


Intergalactic Wars and Polyamory

by Strangestar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Love, Insomnia, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-01-20 08:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12428532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangestar/pseuds/Strangestar
Summary: A story about Shiro, Allura, and Matt Holt and finding love in times of trial. I love the idea of these three together and wanted to write something about three people who have been hurt by the world finding each other.





	1. Background

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray new fic! I'll be speeding through the first few chapters since I want the bulk to be happening post season 4. Hope you all enjoy!

Matt

For as long as he could remember, Matt Holt knew solitude. 

Of course he had his family. Samuel was the best father a boy could ask for, Colleen was the perfect mother in all ways imaginable, Pidge was supportive and they shared the same interests, but there was still this solitude that he could feel in the pit of his stomach. 

He was bullied in school. Of course he was. But the bullies didn’t matter when he was smarter than his entire class, didn’t matter when he could go to the town planetarium with his little sister on Friday nights, didn’t matter when he got accepted into the Galaxy Garrison and left home a year earlier than most entering students did. 

Things got better there. Well, some things, at least. He missed his mother and sister, but his father, while constantly busy, was only a short walk and ring away at any given moment. Matt made some acquaintances, it’s difficult to call somebody a geek when the entire class is made up of geeks, but he never really got particularly close enough with somebody to spend his free time with them. Instead of spending his Friday nights going into the nearby town for a movie or getting drunk from the overpriced beers bought from a strangers or falling in love for the first time, Matt spent the evenings of his young shacked up in his bedroom, watching science documentaries or calling his sister and trying not to think of his wasted youth. 

That all changed with Takashi. Of yes, Golden boy Takashi Shirogane. Born to a Marine and housewife in Kyoto, Japan, moved to California as a baby and thrived ever since. Matt sees him everyday in class and, regardless of never having exchanged words with him, falls in love with him a bit. He hadn’t even realized that he wasn’t heterosexual before him; then again, he wasn’t really thinking about sexuality in any capacity. There’s something about his eyes or his kind smile that make Matt grin, something about the furrow on his brow or the way he cracks his back in class that makes him want to hold him, something about his shoulders or the collarbones that peek out underneath the shirts he wears on weekends that makes him want to-

But Matt drives these thoughts from his head, knowing that he the two will never become friends, never fall in love, probably never even talk to one another, and there’s no use in imagining such. 

Halfway into their first year, Matt’s roommate, who he never talks to, is kicked out of the Garrison for obtaining and selling pot. Shiro’s roommate is kicked out of the Garrison for his bad grades, and since neither are paying tuition for a single room, the two move in together. 

The first month is strange and the two are precarious around each other. Matt finds it difficult to even speak to Shiro, and Shiro is never exactly sure of what to say, so they tread around each other in silence.

It’s a colder night in January when Matt decides that he is, for the first time, lost in his own loneliness. His father is busy with work, his mother didn’t pick up the phone, and he knows Pidge is studying for her semester exams, so he doesn’t want to reach out to them, so he sneaks onto the rooftop of the building in lives in to stargaze, the same way he did back at home. It’s only then that he finds his roommate, lying alone and staring at the sky. Matt clears his throat to get his attention. 

“Oh, hi, Matt,” he says, slightly alarmed. 

“You, uh, come here often?” Matt tries, using a line he had once heard from some dumb sitcom. 

“Ah, ha ha, yeah. It’s nice to clear my head,” he answers, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks. 

“You mind if I join you?” Matt asks quietly. 

“Yeah, for sure,” Shiro responds. Matt takes the seat lying down next to him and listens to the hum of the world around them. 

“So, uh, which constellation is your favorite?” Shiro asks quietly, keeping his eyes on the sky. 

Years later, Matt would remember that moment as one of the best in his life. The two spent the rest of the evening talking about constellations, the galaxy, why they wanted to go to the Garrison, their lives, the universe in general. They even missed curfew and ran back to their room just in time. 

Everything fell into place after that. The two spent almost every spare moment together: Hanging out and studying on weekends, seeing movies on Friday nights, eating together for dinner, drinking overpriced beer in their shared room and laughing about their teachers behind their backs. 

All the while, Matt still found himself slowly falling in love with the boy who had become his best friend. And yet, that didn’t matter anymore: sharing his feelings would put a rift between them, and that would mean losing his only friend. 

So he was content in just being friends if it meant having Takashi Shirogane in his life. 

Shiro

For as long as he could remember, Shiro was expected to be the star child. The golden boy. The perfect son. 

That’s what happens when your siblings are fuck ups he would remind himself. Yes, the drug addict/premarital parent older siblings who had been cut off from their family, never to be seen or heard from again. Out of the fear that came from getting cut off from his family, Shiro never once acted up. He did well in school, got involved in extracurricular activities, got accepted into the Galaxy Garrison program on a full scholarship when he was supposed to. Takashi Shirogane’s life was exceptional in every sense of the world. 

Well, in some ways. Shiro got perfect grades, excelled in his activities, and had an acceptable social life, but he had never had a real friend. Sure, there were some people from his school’s lacrosse and soccer team, or the guys he had met from competing on his school’s Math team and science olympiad, but he had never really cared for any of them. They were nice enough, but Shiro still lacked the connection that comes from becoming friends with people. 

And then he met Matt when they became roommates. Yes, Matt Holt, the adorable, lonely guy who sat next to the window in class and didn’t talk much, worked alone on group projects, never hung around the Garrison student lounge or lunch room like everybody else. 

But time passed and the two quickly became best friends. 

Yes, Takashi Shirogane, star student, golden boy, had a friend. 

And suddenly, the world felt less lonely

Allura

Being born to royalty meant the world was consistently expecting things out of you. Or at least that’s what Allura thought. 

For as long as she could remember, being a princess meant following rules and obeying orders. How to dress, how to eat, how to dance, how to fold your hands, when to sleep, when to speak, when it was appropriate to laugh...the list went on. She was schooled on her own at the castle, spent her weekends there to avoid the “others”; while Altea was beautiful, Allura realized later on in life that there were some serious class issues. 

Sometimes she was happy. She liked all the things her castle had to offer, she liked exploring, she liked playing with Coran if he weren’t too busy. And yet, she still longed for the companionship she had heard about, she longed to explore Altea without her parents or palace guards or Coran, she itched to know what it was like to have a friend. 

On one clear night when she was fourteen, she fashioned a rope out of her old clothing, quickly climbed over the castle walls, and ran into the nearby city, feeling her heartbeat in her throat, but still going nonetheless. She would enjoy the world outside the castle, if only for one night. 

And she loved it. There was a carnival to celebrate one of Altea’s many holidays, and there were games and dancing and food everywhere to be found. She went from stand to stand, talking and laughing with strangers, dancing on her own until a boy slightly older asked if he could join her, eating all the delicious foods she wanted, not caring if she was using the correct fork or sitting up straight enough. 

She snuck back into the castle at the early hours of the morning and, somehow, was not caught. That night, she dreamed of the lights and music coming from the town, and even thinking of that evening would make her happy for years to come. 

For the next few years, everything went downhill. Her mother died, Altea descended into war, Allura begins using her Altean abilities to pilot the Castle of Lions and help Voltron in the fight, Zarkon and Honerva, family friends who she had once confided in, turned away from her father, everything horrible happened all at once and suddenly all Allura knows is darkness.


	2. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three come back into each other's lives.

Matt  
Matt didn’t believe it when he was chosen for the Kerberos mission. He didn’t believe it when Takashi was chosen, too. The two got plastered off a bottle of whiskey in their room to celebrate, with their friend (and Shiro’s foster brother) Keith. 

Everything seems like a blur after that: the trip to Kerberos, being captured by the Galra, watching Shiro escape, being broken out of prison, becoming a rebel and then a rebel leader. Finding (or, getting found by) Pidge, moving into the castle of lions. It all seems so blurred together and Matt cannot believe his luck, but he sees Pidge sleeping on the couch in the lounge after falling asleep during The Empire Strikes Back, and suddenly he’s fourteen and at home all over again. 

Pidge, all ginger hair and freckles, all grown up even though they’re only fifteen years old. Matt smiles to himself. 

“Good night, Pidge,” he says more to himself than to her, and curls up on the opposite side of the couch. 

That night, Matt doesn’t think about how dumb he looked to Allura. He doesn’t think about the old feelings he once held for Shiro, doesn’t think about how both he and Allura make his heart flutter. 

That night, he dreams the boy he once was, before the Garrison and alien imprisonment and Shiro, and that is enough

Shiro  
Shiro falls in love with Allura. Of course he does, he’s only a man. He’s broken and scarred and short of an arm, but he falls in love with the Princess of Altea and things are good for once. 

He loves all the small, random things about her: the silver glints in her hair that only appear in the light, the dreamy blue of her eyes, the markings on her cheeks, he loves her fierceness and power and selflessness. 

He was so surprised when she approached him with her feelings. It was late one evening after a day of hard training, stranded on a small, vacant island while Coran worked to repair some of the Castle’s systems and defenses. He was alone, sitting in the lounge while the younger paladins decided they wanted to explore. The two began talking when Allura simply said what was on her mind: I care about you as a romantic partner, I want to pursue a relationship, Can I please kiss you?

Of course he obliged. Of course he did. 

The two tried to keep it casual, but they quickly fell into a strange kind of devotion: spending their off time and evenings together, kissing whenever possible, sharing Allura’s already huge bed. The paladins deem them “space parents” and they both laugh about it. 

Shiro loves her laugh. Shiro loves the small, pink markings on her hips, loves to listen to her come, loves to lay with her early in the morning, he loves her, he loves her.  
And things are good. 

But then Matt comes steamrolling back into his life and he’s suddenly so unsure of what to do. He’s so quickly reminded of the way Matt used to make him feel so alive, so bubbly, suddenly he’s eighteen years old and drunk in his Garrison room with his best friend. 

Shiro loves Matt Holt, all scars and occasional night terrors and cheesy puns. But he loves his princess, and he wouldn’t give that away. Not ever. And even at night when he lays next to Allura, listening to the sound of her heartbeat, he dreams of the brown eyed boy who was once his first friend all those years ago and feels a pang of sorrow in his heart. 

Allura  
On Altea, young women were consistently told they should not pursue men. Royal marriages were arranged, and her planet hadn’t been destroyed all those ten thousand years ago, she would have married and became a silent, passive mother, like own mother, like her grandmother, like her great grandmother. 

But Altea is gone and so is any hint of royalty; Allura simply does not care about the etiquette lessons or all the times she was scolded or speaking too loud, acting too abruptly, doing anything out of turn. 

She falls for Shiro almost instantly. There’s something about his shoulders that grabs her attention and his caring attitude that holds it; he’s strong, he’s intelligent, he know when and how to be funny. She tells Coran and he holds her hand, giving her a weak smile and telling her to follow her heart. 

So she tells him and he reciprocates her feelings and things seem to align themselves after that; kissing, sharing stories late at night, having sex in the morning before the other paladins have woken up. Loving each other even though they have no business falling in love, not with Lotor on the rise, but they do anyway. Shiro introduces her to do-wap music once Pidge sets up an internet connection up in the castle, and they begin a Friday night tradition of slow dancing together. She is awkward and hates it at first, but she does it because she loves him. 

And yet, there’s something about Matt Holt that makes her blush. She, Princess of Allura of Altea, warrior princess, proclaimed “Bad ass” by her paladins, blushes when a young man from earth calls her beautiful. She brushes her hair that evening and doesn’t think about how her heartbeat increased when they made eye contact or how she wishes she could have spoken with him more. That night, she does not dream, and that is enough.


	3. Interregnum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is up! I realize that this has taken forever to update but I am determined to finish. Please share your thoughts!

Matt  
Matt learns about Shiro and Allura as soon as he moves onto the ship; there’s no public announcement or coming out ceremony or anything like that. He can tell by the way Shiro blushes when she walks into a room, or how Allura smiles at Shiro when she speaks to him. He sees them sitting a little to close in the evenings and holding hands in the mornings and convinces himself that he is happy for his friend.

They’re in love, and Matt wants to be upset when he knows that he shouldn’t be. He never told Shiro about his feelings and he has no right to uproot his relationship like this. 

So he stays quiet about it. He goes to bed in one of the small rooms like the rest of the paladins and wakes up alone. He puts on a facade and acts as if nothing is wrong. He works with Hunk and Pidge and the rebels and life goes on for Matt Holt. He doesn’t want to admit even to himself, but he begins avoiding Shiro and Allura at any cost necessary. He eats breakfast later since he knows Shiro and Allura wake up early, he avoids the west wing of the castle around noon when Shiro and Keith train, he works alone in his room instead of the main dining room since he knows that’s where Allura sometimes works into the evening. It’s lonely, but it’s necessary.

Life goes on, and he will be fine. 

Shiro

Shiro knows Matt has been avoiding him. 

He knows it and he can’t bring himself to do anything about it really. So they continue avoiding each other and only speaking when only necessary. But he cannot deny that he misses one of the only people who he has ever been able to call a friend. 

There’s one evening when he’s laying in bed by himself, remembering one of those fleeting moments from the Garrison. 

“Hey, Shiro, come look at this”, Matt had started, barely looking up from the desk he was working at. Shiro rolled his eyes but got up from the bed he had been laying on to see what Matt was up to. He starts to explain some abstract scientific expedition to one of Mars’ moons or something about genetic information found in the land that could suggest sustainable living...or something along those lines, Shiro was never as smart as Matt. While Shiro’s training to be an astrophysicist, he still sometimes struggles to keep up with Matt’s findings and scientific discussions. 

But in that moment, he just smiled and nodded along because he knew his roommate was excited. 

Matt isn’t that seventeen year old anymore, though. Matt Holt used to be a dork but now he’s a rebel leader. He used to be small, skimpy, unable to really lift anything heavier than thirty pounds, but Shiro watched him take down a small group of sentries by himself. Matt used to be a wide eyed boy who smiled whenever he spoke to Shiro, but now he won’t speak to him at all and his eyes always seem to hold sorrow. 

Shiro misses Matt, and there’s nothing he can do about it. 

Allura

Allura, the high princess of Altea, was not one who succumbed to her crushes. Even when she was fourteen years old and convinced that she was in love with the boy from the visiting planet, when she was sixteen and in love with her friend from Altea, when she met Shiro and realized she loved him. While Shiro made her heart beat faster than she had thought possible, Allura refused to be reduced to some nervous, bumbling girl who couldn’t control herself. 

And yet, she cannot deny that she can hear her heartbeat in her ears when Matt walks into a room. She doesn’t deny that he is strong and brave and smart- all qualities that maybe would have made him an excellent paladin in another universe, but in this universe, she can barely say a few words to him before he excuses himself to work on one of his ongoing projects. 

Matt Holt is beautiful in a way that Shiro is not, she thinks to herself one afternoon. Shiro is brawn and muscle while also being gentle and kind and caring. Matt is stealth and wit with a sense of humor that can make any person feel better. Allura knows that she loves Shiro, like the two were somehow always meant to be together, even through sleeping for 10,000 years. Yet, Matt makes her feel new and alive, and the idea of existing with, living, loving both of them is exhilarating for Allura. 

She won’t admit that it consumes her thoughts, and yet it does. She falls asleep in Shiro’s arms and dreams that Matt is asleep next to her. She dreams of strolls in the juneberry fields with them, of romantic dinners and the parties she probably will never enjoy again with the war that expects everything of her. Altean people used to have relationships beyond two people: three, four, sometimes as many as six or seven if not more. The fact that she has fallen in love with two people is not that seems strange to Allura by any means at all, it’s finding a way to address these feelings that is.


End file.
